Who Am I?

Image of William Townsend. A therapist. A counsellor.

Hello, I’m Will. I am deeply passionate and curious about supporting people to understand themselves on a deeper level, and helping people to live the lives they want to lead.

As I grew up I didn’t have all the tools I needed to understand myself, my emotions, or how to handle many of the issues I encountered. There were times I wondered why I felt so terrible all the time, what I was doing wrong (or why everything else was going wrong!), and much more.

Therapy supported me to break historic cycles and patterns in my life. I now live the life I want to lead, rather than the life I felt was given to me.

I have the absolute joy and privilege of offering others support to change their lives into what they want them to be.

I work humanistically. Essentially this means I believe you are the expert on you, and my job is to understand you and your world from your perspective so we can work together to get you where you want to be.

I work with the whole of you, this may involve talking, working with body language and movement, and the connection between mind, body and more to understand your issues. These can be practical exercises, as well as takeaway ideas to try in your life outside of our sessions.

We will work towards you feeling capable to deal with those issues without me, in your own way. Autonomy is very important in my practice, and everything I offer is an invitation.

I believe everyone should understand their inner world enough to be OK day to day.

Below is a list of ‘common issues’ I work with.

(Please note, I understand a list of issues will never represent the reality of you or me)


Anxiety, Depression

Identity issues, Men’s issues, Masculinity issues, Gender issues, Sexuality

Bereavement, Health related issues, Loss, Grief

Personal development, Relationships, Communication, Self esteem

Spirituality, Stress, Trauma, Work related issues

This list is not exhaustive of how I work or what I work with.

If you want to ask me anything, I welcome hearing from you.

What to expect

Therapy is unique to each person, and our relationship will be the most important part of it! How I work changes in response to you.

I will meet you with compassion and curiosity to support you to share whatever you wish to bring. Once we build our relationship I can offer ideas, perspective, exercises, or challenges to help integrate the work into your daily life.

I want to make sure you get the most out of your time with me, and part of my process includes understanding how you would like to work.

Where will we be?

I am based at 8AKP on King’s Parade.

I am also available online and by phone.

A word on access: The room is at the top of the building up three flights of stairs, so sadly my accessibility is limited.

Water and toilets are available on site.

My Accreditation & Training

It is important to know the credentials of any mental health professional. Always ask or check.

I am a BACP Member, and I trained in a foundation of Humanistic theory at The Gestalt Centre (London, UK) before continuing and completing my BSc in Humanistic Counselling at The Metanoia Institute (London, UK). I currently have a total of four years of university level training in counselling, and many more hours and days of CPD in various issues surrounding mental health.

As a BACP member, I am continually reading, researching, and training in the latest techniques to support my clients. I also receive clinical supervision as part of my requirements to uphold my standards of counselling.

The BACP logo, the governing body that William Townsend is a therapist with.

As an industry, we have a responsibility to the people we work with to maintain rigorous standards of ethical responsibility. If you have a concern or complaint about me, I welcome you to flag it with me if you feel comfortable to have a discussion with me about it. I really welcome feedback and a conversation.

If you would prefer, you can visit the BACP’s website, my regulator, to let them know.

The Metanoia Institute Logo, where William trained as a therapist.
The Gestalt Centre Logo, where William trained as a therapist